There are also some USB based solutions that integrate a WiFi card and antenna in one package. The antennas are pretty high gain, so the distance still wouldn’t be an issue. In a scenario like this you would mount the antenna at your barn and then you would be able to pull in the signal from the router in the house. These would be cheaper by a hundred or so, and that is always good! It has been a while since I used anything like this so I would have to do some digging for you.

The antennas used in laptops and desktops just don't have the muscle to pull in strong signals, so that is where equipment like this really shines.